Book review

This book represents the culmination of the more than two decades that A. P. Khomyakov has dedicated to conducting both field and laboratory studies of the hyperagpaitic alkaline rocks of the Kola peninsula in northeastern Russia. For many years, such rocks have been relegated to the ‘‘back of the class’’ when it has come to petrological studies, not only because of their rarity (i.e. they constitute ,1% of the Earth’s crust) but also because of their mineralogical complexity (i.e. they host between one-tenth and one-seventh of all known minerals). Through this publication, Khomyakov has sought to provide both detailed information on many of the exotic phases found in these rocks (e.g. sodium and REE carbonates, titanosilicates, zirconosilicates, silicophosphates, etc.), as well as attempting to apply the concept of mineral paragenesis as means of understanding the evolution of such geological bodies. In doing so, he provides not only insight into the physical, chemical, and diagnostic properties of a host of unusual minerals but also rational explanations as to why they crystallize in particular sequences in specific areas of these deposits. This is an updated, English-translation version of the same work written by the author (originally in Cyrillic) and first published in 1990. In addition to containing all the information available in the original version, this revised version has an expanded reference list (from 320 to 400) and descriptions for 19 new IMA-CNMMN approved mineral species. The book is divided into four well-written chapters. Chapter 1 serves to introduce and define hyperagpaitic alkaline pegmatitic rocks and their relationship to more ‘‘normal’’ nepheline syenites. Khomyakov also introduces a novel classification scheme (based essentially on the types of mafic, feldspathoidal, and accessory phases present) to subdivide these rocks into more practical, working lithologies. He also provides a relatively detailed discussion of the geological setting and composition of the units making up the Khibina and Lovozero massifs (the two most important massifs in the Kola peninsula and the focus of Khomyakov’s career). Chapter 2 focuses on the numerous water soluble and unstable phases (predominantly sodium carbonates/silicates and titano/ zirconosilicates prone to a variety of hydration states) that are often indicative of hyperagpaitic rocks. Phaseequilibria data as well as information on the synthesis of some of these phases are also presented. Chapter 3, which is real strength of this publication, presents descriptions and data (chemistry, physical features, optical properties, strongest lines on XRD patterns, etc.) for approximately one-third of the 500 or so minerals discovered at the Khibina and Lovozero massifs. It also includes data for 19 new minerals along with 40 or so unnamed minerals (designated M*), a necessity for anyone working on the complex mineralogy of these or similar rocks. The mineralogical descriptions are neatly arranged by chemistry (oxides, carbonates, phosphates, etc.) and range from a few sentences to about a page in length. Several summary tables for particular mineralogical groups (e.g. REE carbonates), optical stereograms, crystal line drawing, and the like are scattered throughout the text. The final chapter deals with the economic viability of hyperagpaitic alkaline rocks and methods for exploration. Khomyakov points that such deposits are not simply mineralogical ‘‘rainforests’’ but also important ore deposits containing high concentrations of Al, P, Zr, REE, Ti, Ta, etc., large deposits of natural sodium carbonate, and unusual zeolites and zeolitic-like minerals with unique ion-exchange and sorptive capacities. The chapter also includes eight photographic plates, including those of some of the rare rock types found in the Kola peninsula, mineral SEM micrographs, and a few photomicrographs from thin sections. This book is an important compendium, providing data and references that were previously unavailable or obtainable only with great difficulty. It really is directed at the research level, although the information would be useful to anyone working on highly alkaline rocks. It suffers from several relatively minor flaws. For example, the reader is not presented with a map outlining the geographical position of the Khibina and Lovozero massifs of the Kola peninsula nor similar world-wide localities (Mont Saint-Hilaire, Canada; Ilimaussaq, Greenland); the geological maps for the Khibina and Lovozero massifs are complicated and difficult to read; the classification scheme used to subdivide the hyperalkaline rocks is mineralogically based, and may not stand up to the nuances and rigours of whole rock geochemical investigations; some of the minerals are not valid species (e.g. ‘‘tetraedingtonite’’) or have incorrect formulas (e.g. lovozerite); the XRD data for the minerals (usually the six strongest lines) lack complementary intensity information and there is no indication of the type of radiation used. However, these errors and omissions are minor and do not significantly detract from the impact of this work. The price is relatively steep for most of us. Still, I have already purchased a working copy for myself and, considering the data available in it, highly recommend it to others in the field.

they have followed during the last three or four centuries from the revived investigation of the laws of the physical sciences by measurement and experiment. It is prefaced by some all too brief chapters on the development of medicine from ancient times, especially on the Greek spirit and scientific method. One of the most striking chapters is the Epilogue, which discusses whether further progress is possible, or whether the engine which has carried us so far?" the scientific method," ' the determinist thought,"?is not self-limited, although so many diseases are still not curable, and those men who reach a certain age have to-day no better chance of life than they would two hundred years ago. The story of the gradual growth of physiology, pathology and public health is beautifully told, though sadly limited by considerations of space and of the readers for whom it is designed. It may be said that this brilliant study of the principles underlying the science of medicine should not be called a history of medicine, but the author replies that it is a history of ideas in this branch of biological science, and the reader should bear this m mind.
How to Start in General Practice. By J. G. Briggs, ^I R.C.S. Pp. 158. London : John Murray. 1928. Price 6s.
Hospitals do not equip men for private practice, it has been said lately, as pupilage prepared our forebears, and this is another book purporting to supply their insufficiency. The author has studied the means whereby, with little capital, place and foothold may be found, or a house economically constructed and adapted to medical needs. Indeed, he is rich in device.
" Have a hidden push-bell from surgery desk L0 maid (who can be summoned to remind you of an aPpointment and so cut short the visit of a too loquacious 219 patient) ! " In weakening the veracity of the maid the author lessens our interest in her master. Already, obviously, the latter is succeeding. One so wide awake and ready for emergencies, so handy with drugs, so thrifty, so methodical with records and accounts and so faithful to his own improvement, should not miscarry in his adventure nor fail in his lot. should prove of real value to students and medical practitioners. In a short space it summarises clearly the theory and practice of the art of physical examination of the lungs in health and disease.
Most of the statements with regard to physical examination are thoroughly sound and will pass without comment.
Chapter IV., however, which deals with auscultation, serves to emphasise the deplorable lack of ? uniformity in nomenclature which makes the teaching of students so difficult at the present time. The classification of adventitious sounds and the use of the terms rale, crepitation and rhonchus by various authors differs so widely that one is forced, when speaking of another's description, to say that it doesn't much matter what he calls things if only he knows what he means. Chapter VII., which attempts to correlate physical signs with common pulmonary disease,, is necessarily very sketchy, perhaps the book would be better without it. It sets out no new matter that is not already contained in the earlier chapters. The X-Ray plates at the end of the book are excellent. ?This monograph forms a case report " par excellence.
Clinical observations and methods of treatment are dealt with in full detail.
The results of blood examinations provide numerous points of interest, and it is a remarkable feature of the case that the erythrocytes suffered little. A few observations on the normal blood picture in children would have been a useful addition to the section on differential diagnosis. The main feature, however, is the use of liver extract in treatment, and is of particular interest at the present time, especially aS" little success has yet been attained in aplastic ana?mia. Tuberculous Intoxications. By J. Hollos, M.D. Pp. x.r 132. Edinburgh : E. and S. Livingstone. 1928. Price 10s. Gd. ?As foretold in the preface, this book "will astonish many of us, it will shock others, it will convince some." The views expressed throughout this compilation of deductions by Dr. Hollos may seem to some to illustrate how a belief, perhaps brilliantly true at its conception, may so obsess the mind of a worker, that he sees in it the explanation of widely-different phenomena. That certain individuals may be hypersensitive to tuberculous toxins, and therefore display certain reactions, is no doubt true : but to claim, as does Dr. Hollos, that amongst these reactions are such widely-different manifestations a& epistaxis and rheumatic arthritis seems a conclusion wholly unjustifiable. Dr. Hollos, from the nature of his research, perhaps knowingly and defiantly lavs himself open to criticism, for he claims that only in those types of abnormality which do not present the usually accepted phenomena of tuberculosis, but which he assumes really to be of this nature, do these lytic reactions " occur ; an indulgent reader will perhaps tolerate these suggestions ; but it requires an innocent credulity to accept the further conclusion that a few drops of immune blood, rubbed lightly into the skin, is the appropriate cure for dysmenorrhea or a ganglion of the wrist. Unhappily, in the Narrations of cases, we observe a vast degree of special pleading, and a zeal for victory, more than that which ought always to be the great aim of the investigator?the discovery of truth. Price 10s. 6d.?At the present time when a medical curriculum is crowded with an increasing number of subjects, it is essential for teachers and students alike to make some distinction regarding the relative importance of the varied objects of study. It is obviously impossible for anyone to become an expert medical jurisconsult or a toxicologist without long and serious study, but it is not difficult to obtain a working knowledge of forensic medicine and toxicology in a short time by a judicious use of text-books. This selection is largely in the students' hands, and we are acquainted with no work which deals with the subjects referred to in a clearer way than does this small volume written by Br. Brend. The author has spared no pains to render the work suitable for use by medical students and practitioners, it is in no sense a " cram book," but is written in such a lucid way that the reader imbibes accurate knowledge with little effort. The various sections are well up to date?as evidenced by the inclusion of recent tests for blood and references to new statutory enactments affecting medical practitioners. The convenient size and clear print contribute in no small degree to the excellence of the book, and we have no hesitation in recommending it to all those who wish to obtain a working knowledge of a very interesting subject. The issue of this small volume comes as a welcome addition to the numerous text-books which a medical student is called upon to read. This is saying a good deal, nevertheless it is true.
Of the sixty-eight pages there is not a dry one. The book is written in Mr. Dowden's pleasing style, and deals with the management of any surgical case from first to last.
A few general hints to the beginner precede a chapter on facts which may be learnt by cultivating one's power of observation-Then follows some sound advice on the systemic examination of a patient and a guide to history taking. A few pages are devoted to certain principles of treatment, and a brief paragraph deals with prognosis. The order of case taking advised is not that universally accepted, but this is a minor point. Ever}r student would do well to read and almost to learn the book by heart, before actually commencing hospital appointments-Sush a proceeding would be of inestimable benefit to man} students and patients. Churchill. 1928. Price 2s. Gd.?The most important alterations in this edition are the more precise and detailed directions in reference to chemical disinfection, and a most excellent appendix summarising the present position in regard to the recognition of susceptibility to diphtheria and scarlet fever, and of the methods of immunisation and treatment by means ?f their several antitoxins.
This code of rules, coming from so authoritative a source, will do much to bring about uniformity of practice in public and preparatory schools.
-The information provided will prove of the greatest service, riot only to School Medical Officers, but to general practitioners, and all who are resjDonsible for the health of children at school.
Diseases of the Larynx. By Harold Barwell, F.R.C.S. Third edition. Pp. xvi., 278. Illustrated. London : Oxford University Press. 1928. Price 12s. 6d.?The third edition of this excellent little manual follows at rather a long interval after the second. The eighteen intervening years have witnessed so great a development that it has been necessary to rewrite the whole book. Nevertheless, the size has not materially increased, in spite of generous print and numerous and handsome illustrations : the latter have the great merit of being drawn by the distinguished laryngologist-author. A Volume devoted to diseases of the larynx and oesophagus only, and intended for the student and practitioner rather than the specialist, is not often seen nowadays, but those in search ?f such a work will not find a better. ?We think that the publishers and editors have every reason to be pleased with this year's issue, for the reader will find that it contains a specially rich harvest of medical and surgical gains, many of them no doubt of minor importance, though some bid fair to be of great and permanent value. Thus the discovery of a serum which aborts poliomyelitis will be of immense value if the supply can be largely increased and really early diagnosis ensured. Possibly the latter difficulty may be met if some test can be found like the Schick reaction for diphtheria. We should like here to draw attention to the beautiful coloured plates which are given of this test, and of the scarlatina one, with the account of the results obtained. The present volume, indeed, has no less than 53 plates and 130 illustrations, some of them of high artistic merit. Among the many attractive articles we may instance the account of the liver treatment of pernicious anaemia and a useful discussion of our present knowledge of the disease ; a similar discussion on epilepsy, describing the ketogenic diet for young patients which seems to have given some cures ; a practical article on sprains and synovitis ; one on the great help given by anti-gas serum in abdominal operations, and not least, one on the management of boarding schools during epidemics with its many trying problems. There are, too, records of the discovery of an organism peculiar to trachoma ; of an antidote for cocaine poisoning ; a new treatment for burns by tannic acid ; and one for drug addiction by narcosan, a solution ot lipoids, which gave striking results when used in New York on 366 patients. Readers will highly appreciate the handy directories and lists of new books, instruments and drug8 which are an important feature of this most necessary book-